Avalanche Safety Books
Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain
by Bruce Tremper
Published by Mountaineers Books (October 2001)
While reading a book is no substitute for Avalanche Courses with certified professionals, the foundation of knowledge about the science of snow provided in Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain is invaluable. Tremper's excellent guide about how and why snow moves provides a strong foundation for backcountry adventurers that often find themselves in avalanche terrain. However, the book is no substitute for field experience, courses with professionals, practice, and continued studies. The ultimate rule of avalanche terrain is that if you have to use rescue devices, you have already failed regardless of the search and rescue out come. Knowing how to assess changing conditions is the best method of preventing human triggered avalanches short of avoiding the terrain completely.
Snowstruck: In the Grip of Avalanches
by Jill Fredston
Published by Harcourt (November 1, 2005)
While this is not your typical book on Avalanche safety, the stories of Jill Fredston may just be exactly what over ambitious snow sport adventurers need to read to get scared straight. Snowstruck details Jill Fredston's experiences as a foremost authority on avalanches in Alaska. Fredston's knowledge, experience, and expertise is in heavy demand during the North American winter which often involves death and tragedy. After reading Snowstruck, I got the feeling that is the type of Job Security most people would not want. Jill Fredston and her husband Doug Fesler are drawn to the magic white death both by its beauty and the tragic consequences of others' bad decisions. The book details the lives of Jill Fredston and Doug Fesler including how they met and formed an inseparable partnership around the most tragic of winter accidents that claim dozens of lives every year. Several aspects of how avalanches impact outdoor enthusiasts and communities are detailed including skiers, hikers, road slides, housing destruction, community development, snow mobilers, and snow boarders. An excellent read that will give any one entering into avalanche terrain a second thought knowing the potential of human tragedy based on bad decisions is devastating.